Recipes, menus and everything to do with my not so new kitchen

Sunday was a relatively quiet day, recovering from our very first Robbie Burns dinner organized by my fire-fighter friend (Christine). She’s been doing it for years and I’ve always managed to have something else planned, but this year we bit the bullet and committed early. What was my hesitation, you may ask? Well, they serve Haggis. Now you might say that, “Eva, you have eaten some very unusual items, what’s with the Haggis?” It’s really the unknown, all that weird innards stuff ground up and stuffed into the stomach, cooked in the stomach and served in the stomach (it’s pretty grey, by the way). They have an actual ceremony for the Haggis and then they cut it up and serve it as a side dish along an enormous pile of roast beef. I couldn’t even get through it all. I did have some of the Haggis, it was heavily spiced and let’s just say I didn’t hate it, but you won’t see me running to the front of the line for another bowl! On top of it all, I think it gave me the worst heart-burn I’ve had in ages.

I own nothing tartan, nothing. So a week before the night I made the pilgrimage to the mall to pick up something nice in tartan but not too expensive and to my surprise, there was nothing but lumberjack shirts to be had and you know what a lumberjack girl I am! So I came home empty handed when I got a text from my friend (boss) Kim that she had a little tartan mini she would be happy to lend me! I was ecstatic! I have been told that see myself through ‘fat eyes’ and so this was no exception, I looked at the skirt and thought “this isn’t going to fit” but then I gave it a go, and it did, quite nicely, I might add! I paired it with a cute little black top, solid black tights and my slouchy suede red boots (5″ heel)! I was ready for the prom, I mean the Robbie Burns dinner.

The skirt was very short, but with the opaque tights it worked like a charm, and the boots.

Slouchy Red Suede Boots

JT found himself a very fetching plaid tie at the dollar store (guess how much it was?) The evening was a lot of fun, a little Scottish dancing (some local kids) and then the DJ started with the dance-hall music. We danced until midnight, screaming our heads off, bouncing around on the dance floor. My legs are killing me today, but it was well worth it.

This is the second course of our Sunday dinner with nephew Brian. No, I haven’t forgotten about the give away…I’ve been a bit busy! Stay tuned, I’ll make the announcement a little later this week!

Baked Salmon Cakes with Cilantro Pesto on Greens

Makes 3 huge ones, or 6 much smaller appetizer portions

Ingredients:

1 can low sodium, Skinless, Boneles salmon, drained

1/2 cup mashed potato with roasted garlic (you can use instant for this, but I made this when I had left overs)

1 egg slightly beaten

1 clove garlic, finely minced

1 tsp horseradish

2 green onions finely chopped

1/4 cup panko

2 squirts of non-stick spray for baking

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350°F.

Mix everything but the panko and the non-stick spray together, making sure all the flavours are evenly distributed.

Roll in panko evenly.

In a large frying pan, heat and squirt one squirt of non-stick spray. Gently fry each side until golden brown, place on sprayed cookie sheet until all have been browned and place in oven for 15-25 minutes, until cooked through.

Serve with Cilantro Pesto on a bed of leafy greens.

Cilantro Pesto

Ingredients:

1 cup cleaned and dried cilantro

1/2 cup cleaned and dried parsley

2 tbsp sesame oil

1 small clove garlic

3 tbsp white and black toasted sesame seeds

1 tsp soy sauce

2-4 tbsp lime juice (to taste)

1-2 tsp agave nectar

Directions:

Place all the ingredients (except the lime juice and agave) into the bowl of an immersion blender and blend until desired consistency is achieved, adding the lime juice slowly.

Taste, add more lime juice and a little agave to achieve the correct balance of sweet, salty, sour and bitter.

The earthy, slightly sweet pesto made a wonderful accompaniment to the salmon cakes

Oh, you must have been so stylish at Burns Night! Post a photo? The salmon cakes sound fabulous: I love, love, love cilantro pesto. By the way, I have a black and purple kilt I bought in Canada and whenever I wear it someone asks if it is my tartan! I say things like, “Oh yeah. Clan Ralph Lauren.”

I love fish cakes Eva – I usually make them with tuna. Salmon definitely seems very luxurious and I love the idea of cilantro pesto – I only ever tried basil pesto before. I just adore cilantro so I bet I’d love this! 🙂

Thanks Charles, it was very tasty. The thing to keep in mind with cilantro is that the things that pair with it are more Asian or South American flavours! The sesame, lime juice and sesame oil worked out perfectly! I’m using the leftover dressing on simple salads for lunch!

I get where you are coming from Maria; pesto in the traditional sense made from cilantro would not hit my taste buds at all either, but I have taken it to more of an Asian flavouring, which has the nut (actually sesame seeds) the garlic, sesame oil and lime (the acid) and it worked so very well. But you have to like (love) cilantro, which I do. Even JT said he really liked it!
Oh, the costume, thanks for noticing 😉 and it was ridiculously short, but it was a bit crazy and I didn’t know many people there, so I went for it. My hubby loved it!

I salute your courage for trying haggis, I wouldn’t have had the stomach.
Serve me those mouth watering salmon cakes and I will be glad to finish the plate and ask for seconds 🙂
love the cilantro pesto, looking forwards to trying that ASAP

With all the flavours, Caroline, I think you might even like it. I understand where you are coming from, salmon can be a very greasy and fishy taste, but if done correctly it can be wonderful (and it’s so good for you!). I know I shouldn’t have called it pesto, but it was an herb, with a nut (actually seeds), garlic and an oil, so it totally sounded pesto to me.

Pesto just means paste so you can call it that if you want. Maybe it’s because so many people only know of pesto as being made of basil, pine nuts and parmesan that the confusion comes up. I make a parsley, walnut and parmesan version which is wonderful inside a rolled and tied boneless leg of lamb.

I’ve tried many things, Eva, but haggis wasn’t one of them. Just never had the opportunity, although, to be honest, I don’t know if I would try it even if it was available. Your salmon cakes, on the other hand, sound delicious and I’ll take two, thank you very much.

Thank you kindly, John, you are always so very complimentary! I really enjoyed the salmon cakes, and next time, I will make the larger versions so that they are more of a meal, than an hors d’œuvres! The haggis, I’ll leave for those who’ve never tried it before!

As soon as I read the title of your post I knew I wanted to find out more about the recipe. It sounds fabulous. I share your pain re haggis. It’s something I’ve had no desire to try. The ingredients are alarming rather than enticing. Good on you for trying it. I don’t think I could have been so brave. Maybe it’s a product like vegemite and you just have to grow up with it to enjoy it.